Stepping Away From Auto

This morning I did my daily ritual and read through some of my favorite blogs.  I came across a great explanation of taking photos in "manual" on Bower Power blog, see here.  I've had my Sony dslr for 2 and 1/2 years and have yet to use it to it's full potential.  Because I just don't know how.  I shoot everything in "auto" and if they look good to me, it's a keeper.  I have tried and have wanted to learn more but whenever I read about aperture, shutter speed, f-stop, etc it's like reading Chinese.  Katie has done a great job explaining the different features, to me anyways.  I even made a cheat sheet to take with me.  Of course, I have sooooo much more to learn and lots of practice ahead, but this is a start.  There is hope.

While the boys were taking their bath, I used the opportunity of them being in a contained area to practice some of the things off my cheat sheet.  My pictures actually look good, not professional good by any means, but good considering I did it all myself!  The only editing I did to them was deepen their eyes in close ups to make them pop.

And I love the lighting in the next two!